I was trying to explain this scenario to a friend of mine who is not connected to the publishing world at all. He found it stunning that in this day and age such racism is openly practiced. The idea that white people won’t buy books with black people on a cover or that there’s not a book buying public among the black community who would purchase books borders on the irrational. Yet it seems that once again it seems like racefail is in full effect.

Now would be the time when I would point out that not all publishers buy into the cycle of reinforcing racist ideas. I would point to Angry Robot’s cover for South African writer Lauren Beukes‘ second novel, Zoo City (art by John Picacio). Or my own novel from them, Knights of Breton Court: Kingmaker. Instead, I will point to the just released art for my second novel, Knights of Breton Court: King’s Justice one more time because it’s just so pretty:We’ll soon find out whether or not black people on a cover will hurt sales. Nevertheless, having this conversation won’t hurt. Apparently it’s long overdue to happen.

*Lloyd was actually the second model chosen. In an interesting parallel to the Bloomsbury debacle, Angry Robot asked me what I thought of the first model the artist was leaning towards. I said that I thought he was too light as I had imagined King as much darker. The folks at Angry Robot immediately, and I mean, IMMEDIATELY agreed and changed course. You can’t ask much more than that from your publishers.

It’s been fully acknowledged that 2009 was a rough year. It was a year of major shifts, having shed or been shed of a destructive relationship, a church, and my job of twenty years. It also finally feels like I’m coming out of a near year long depression.

It’s easy to become risk averse. Life and responsibilities need to be met, and can make us afraid to take the risks necessary to do what you need or want to do. You can end up in a comfortable situation, make enough money to get by, and be dogged by the feeling that you aren’t where you want to be or doing what you’re supposed to be doing. I know that I had a position that allowed me a flexible schedule, and thus the time to do the stuff that really mattered to me. It became more readily apparent that my job no longer mattered to me, which is sort of the point: work became numbing and could be done on muscle memory. Until I couldn’t. It wasn’t fulfilling, wasn’t where I wanted to be, wasn’t what I wanted to do and it showed.

There’s a tension that we live in. Work is hard and it’s supposed to be. It doesn’t mean you have to hate it. It’s a matter of matching your passion to your need. I could never be a mechanic. We’ll ignore the fact that I couldn’t pick a wrench out of a line up and am not known for my ability to do physical labor. It’s just nothing that holds any interest for me. However, I have a friend who is a mechanic. You get him under the hood of a car, and it’s like watching poetry. Working with cars is his passion, he loves it, and he’s doing kingdom work. He donates his time fixing up cars for folks, helping out ministries when he can. His passion is infectious … though I still won’t be picking up a wrench anytime soon.

So I’m seeing this time as God’s permission to dream … within reason. Our safety net has been removed and we have to trust in our good Father for provision. As I try to move from occupation to vocation, having been freed to pursue who I am supposed to be and figure out where I’m supposed to be—as well as use my gifts and passions—I don’t want to be irresponsible either. It’s a lot easier to take risks when you are single and without kids. My wife, however, has apparently become accustomed to little things like insurance. And food. Now is a time for dreaming. Right now, I’m exploring the life of a freelance writer and what it means to use my gifts and passions in a missional sense.

Brought to you by the Indiana Horror Writers, Mo*Con is a convention focused on conversations revolving around horror literature and spirituality (two great tastes that taste great together!). If you enjoy writing, horror, fantasy, poetry, and food, you’ll find plenty to enjoy at this convention. Basically, imagine a room party held in a con suite, and that’s Mo*Con.

Who Will Be There?

Kelli DunlapKelli spends her free time pounding on the keys with the bloody nubs that used to be her fingers. She has sold several short stories to both online and print magazine, and even dabbled in a poetry sale here or there. Her first novel will be available in 2009 through Morning Star, an imprint of Bloodletting Press. She has a family and pets, but more importantly, a website–where you can stay up to date on the novel or other output from the bloody nubs: kellidunlap.com. Visit her and she’ll refrain from shaking her nubs at you, thus splattering you with bloody goo.

Brian KeeneBrian Keene is the author of over twenty horror, crime, and dark fantasy novels and short story collections, including Castaways, Dead Sea, Unhappy Endings, Dark Hollow, Urban Gothic, and many more. He also writes comic books for Marvel, DC and others. The winner of two Bram Stoker Awards, as well as several other literary awards, Keene’s work has been translated into German, Polish, French, Spanish, and Taiwanese. His novel, The Rising (published in early 2003), is often credited (along with Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later) as ushering in the current resurgence of zombies in pop culture. Several of his works have been optioned for film and other media. His short story The Ties That Bind was released on DVD in July 2009 as a short independent film. Also in 2009, his novel Terminal debuted as a limited release stage play.

Gary BraunbeckGary A. Braunbeck is a prolific author who writes mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mainstream literature. He is the author of 19 books; his fiction has been translated into Japanese, French, Italian, Russian and German. Nearly 200 of his short stories have appeared in various publications.

Lucy SynderThe author the author of a trilogy of novels that are set be published by Del Rey starting in 2009; the first book in the series is entitled Spellbent. Also the author of Sparks and Shadows, a cross-genre short story collection from HW Press, Lucy A. Snyder may be most known for her humor collection Installing Linux on a Dead Badger (And Other Oddities). With over 70 short fiction sales and over 20 poetry sales, her fiction goes all over the road, although she does tend to write genre stories (science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, etc.) more often than straightforward mainstream fiction. She also writes a column for Horror World on science and technology for writers.

Wrath James WhiteSucculent Prey marks his first mass-market release from Leisure Books. If you have a taste for extreme fiction with socio-political and philosophical messages that push boundaries, break taboos, and leave you thinking long after the book has ended then check out Teratologist co-written with Edward Lee, Poisoning Eros co written with Monica O-Rourke, The Book of A thousand Sins collection, His Pain novella, Orgy of Souls with Maurice Broaddus, Hero novella with J.F. Gonzalez, and Population Zero. If you have a weak stomach, a closed mind, rigid morals, and Victorian sexual ethics, than avoid his writing like the plague.

Artist Guest of Honor

Alex McVeyAlex McVey is an award-winning, Chesley-nominated illustrator whose work has been published internationally, ranging from album art to graphic design to book illustration. He has illustrated the works of Stephen King, Joe R. Lansdale, Gahan Wilson, Brian Keene, Ramsey Cambpell, and Richard Matheson, among others. His clients incl
ude ad firms, gaming companies, film studios, bands, and book and magazine publishers.

Editor Guest of Honor

Jason SizemoreA young writer and editor from Appalachia Kentucky, Jason has seen his fiction appear in nearly two dozen books and magazines. He’s a prolific non-fiction writer, having dozens of essays, reviews, and editorials published in print and on the web on varied subjects such as gaming, geek culture, and politics. He earned his college degree from Transylvania University, making him an ideal candidate to head a horror magazine. He was a 2006 Stoker Award nominee for his work on the Aegri Somnia anthology. In 2007, he published his first chapbook (under the newly formed APEX BOOKS division of Apex Publications) titled Webs of Discord. He appears in Writers Workshop of Horror and has a collection of Appalachian horror titled Irredeemable from Shroud Publications coming out in the spring of 2010.

Featured Guests Include:

Chesya BurkeWith more than 40 publishing credits to her name, including the acclaimed Chocolate Park, Chesya Burke has been making her mark in the horror and fantasy worlds. She has several articles appearing in the African American National Biography published by Harvard University and Oxford University Press, received the 2003 Twilight Tales Award for fiction and an honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Science Fiction: 18th Annual Edition.

Alethea KontisAlethea Kontis is the New York Times bestselling author of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter Companion, as well as the AlphaOops series of picture books. She has done multiple collaborations with artist Janet Lee including A is for Alice, The Umbrella of Fun, and the illustrated Twitter serial Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome. Alethea’s most recent work can be found in the Apex Publications anthologies Harlan County Horrors and Dark Faith.

Steven C. GilbertsSteven and his lovely wife Becky now live in a spooky Queen Ann cottage within a small Dunwich-esk village of southern Indiana, near the now abandoned ammo plant of his youth. While hiding from the townsfolk, Steven concocts odd illustrations for the small press industry. His work has graced magazines from Apex Digest to Cemetery Dance, Dark Wisdom to Shroud Magazine.

I recognize that you don’t love* me for me. We live in a “what have you done for me lately” world and I don’t blame you. So once again, I offer you free stuff.**

Dan Simmons has a new book coming out, Black Hills. That’s not what I’m offering. However, Drood is also coming out in paperback in February and in celebration of it, I’ve been tasked with giving away a few copies. First, a bit about Drood, which horror maestro Brian Keene listed at the top of his top ten books of 2009 list (in fact, allow me to quote/snag from Brian Keene’s blog):

Although those of us who’ve yearned for a good doorstop-sized novel have reason to rejoice this year, Drood might seem intimidating to a generation of readers weaned on quick, flash entertainment–at least at first glance. Put your fears aside. Drood is a thoroughly engrossing read that, despite its size, is over far too quickly. Narrated by Wilkie Collins, Drood is the story behind the story of Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In the aftermath of a grisly train crash, Dickens encounters a seemingly supernatural being that will soon alter his life drastically. Dickens’ obsession becomes Collins’ obsession as well, and their individual quests for the truth take the reader on a twisting ride, that will leave you guessing. Is he Jack the Ripper? Dracula, perhaps? A resurrected Egyptian pharaoh? A figment of the imagination? Something else? The prose is rich and textured, as are the settings and characterizations. Simmons does a remarkable job of capturing the era in which it takes place. This slow build drips with atmosphere, and the tension rises with each subsequent chapter. A masterful, mature work by a masterful, mature writer. I didn’t think Simmons could ever top The Terror, but he has. Read this!

I have five copies at my disposal. You should know the drill: give a shout out in the comments section of my blog and you’re entered. I’ll be accepting entries till the end of the month. I’ll draw five names out of a hat and your books will be shipped directly to you. U.S. residents only and no PO Boxes.

*Okay, “love” is a VERY strong word for what might better be described as “tolerate me enough to read me”.

**Because while splashing about in my fount of insecurities, I’m not above bribery.

It’s always a tricky bit of navigation when your friends say or do something ignorant. I remember a couple of occasions in church, I was attending a mostly white church at the time, and one of the members patted me on head. On another occasion, the pastor compared me to “a faithful dog” from the pulpit. For better or worse, I chalked those things up to well-meaning, but ignorant gestures. Perhaps she didn’t get the memo that the whole rub the head of a black guy has some pretty racist origins or maybe he didn’t get that comparing black folks to animals might not play well considering a history or dehumanization. I often got the “you’re the whitest black guy I know” (which I often heard as “you’re the only black guy I know and I only associate with you because you sound and seem to act a lot like me so you don’t scare me”) because I don’t “sound” black.

Race is the third rail in politics, in the church, and, well, most of our lives. If there is to be any hope of reconciliation, there has to be a sharing and hearing of stories and some of the conversations are going to be tough (and, as a friend of mine points out, you can’t have a conversation about anything by starting it with “Your voice doesn’t count.”) Now, I know some Republicans want to make hay of this incident, calling folks on the seeming-hypocrisy of Senator Trent Lott having to step down over his comments versus the gymnastics folks do to defend someone they like. And they’d have a point, except that conversations about race shouldn’t happen in a vacuum, but rather have a context. (Though, seriously, Senator Lott, how do you think trying to spin someone’s segregationist past is a good idea or that it wouldn’t get you into trouble? But again, if you have built up a lot of good will, you can step into such firestorms to make the point you thought you were making because friends can have those kind of tough conversations. If you don’t have that kind of good will built up…]

Every few years we have these sort of dust ups, so we were about due. Not too long ago we had Don Imus referring to the women of the Rutgers basketball team as “some nappy-headed hos.” After so many offenses, he rather struck me as an equal opportunity offender, but it led to the conversation about how there are some words and phrases “off limits” to certain folks in certain contexts and the situation resolved by the offended parties speaking up and reprimands given.

We also had Kelly Tilghman, play-by-play announcer for The Golf Channel’s PGA Tour broadcasts, while bantering with Nick Faldo about young players who might challenge Woods suggesting that they “lynch him in a back alley.” In short, it’s stupid and you can’t say it. However, I don’t think she should have been suspended. I think her apology should have stood on its own, she should have been simply reprimanded, and the conversations had about why what she said was a poor choice of words. We can’t police every bad sentence, because that would stifle conversations that still need to be had.

“I’ve apologized to the president, I’ve apologized to everyone that within the sound of my voice that I could have used a better choice of words,” Reid has said. Apologies happen for a reason. Sometimes folks simply don’t get that what they did was hurtful or demeaning and their apologies should stand and be accepted on their face value (even if the incidents themselves aren’t forgotten because we know that forgiveness takes time). Just like folks ought to be judged by their deeds and track record.

Just because folks are your friends doesn’t mean that they aren’t capable of saying and doing ignorant things. Just like I’m sure there will be another RaceFail conversation in the genre fiction world as we muddle through what it means to live with one another, deal with the history of hurts with of one another, be different from one another, and respect one another.

*Now, I can’t wait to see the gymnastics folks do if President Bill Clinton’s alleged comment about President Obama—“ a few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.”—prove to be accurate. After all, President Clinton was widely held as our “first black president.”

[That and sometimes our “friends” are just too ignorant for words: “I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived,” ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said to Esquire Magazine. “I saw it all growing up.”]With a h/t to the blackfolks LJ:

I have a so-called writer friend who shall remain nameless (Brian Keene says what?) who loves to remind me of the fact that this year I turn forty. Forty. Four Zero. That milestone of angst and turmoil, even for the most secure of us … and we all know how stable writer/creative types are. Thing is, this year marks my debut turn as a novelist. Yes, yes, yes. I’ve had short stories, an anthology, and novellas published,* but I hadn’t had a novel see the light of day. Now while I find myself ready to choke the next person forwarding me a headline about the latest pre-/teen offered a six figure book deal, there are some very practical reasons why it has taken me so long to find my way to novel print.

1) Writing is long and hard.** I decided in 1993 to write a novel. I was all of 23. The world was full of hope and I could dare to dream. I finally typed “the end” in 2000. For the record, this is the first lesson of being a writer: writers finish things. When I set out to write a novel, I had NO IDEA how to write one. Sure, I’d read quite a few (and read the Cliffs Notes of many more during high school). Sure, I had thought to myself “this is easy. Anyone can do this. I can certainly do this better than (fill in the blank).” Seven years and 140K words later, I learned that 23 year olds aren’t always that bright.

2) Just because you’ve written a novel doesn’t mean you have written a sellable novel. My first novel is a horror novel called “Strange Fruit.” My second novel is an urban fantasy called “Pantheon of Dreams”. I would tell you the name of my third novel, an African American romance, but my so-called writer friend would join with another so-called writer friend (Wrath James White says what?) to beat me to death with their taunts because I made the mistake of telling them the pen name I planned on using. My fourth novel was a sword and sorcery collab with Steven L. Shrewsbury entitled “Black Son Rising”. My fifth novel is an urban fantasy/crime novel called Knights of Breton Court: King maker (with the sixth being Knights of Breton Court: King’s Justice). There are a few lessons I can take home from my lack of sales.

-One, there are no wasted words. My romance novel will never, no never, see the light of day. However, one of the story lines in it was incorporated into Kingmaker. Just like there were scenes from Pantheon of Dreams that made it into King’s Justice.

-Two, some books have their time. “Strange Fruit” and “Black Son Rising” are simply waiting on the whims of market demands. For example, should a Conan movie go into production, the market for old school sword and sorcery novels will heat up. Also, I still stand by “Strange Fruit”. First time novels typically suck. That’s why God created second drafts. Or, in its case fifth drafts (as it is now down to 90K words).

-Three, while it took seven years to write “Strange Fruit”, it took six months to write “Pantheon of Dreams”, one to write the first draft of “Kingmaker” (yay NaNoWriMo), and three months to write “King’s Justice”.

3) Just because you’ve written a novel doesn’t mean you can sell a novel. It’s one reason why so many first time novelists turn to self-publishing. But, for me, FOR ME (as in the decisions I’VE made for how I want MY career to go), I believe that there are worse fates than being non-published. Plus, if I’d gone the self-publishing route, well, then my so-called friends would be beating me to death with physical copies of a book.

The selling of a book can age a person. Spending time developing contacts, learning the business, finding an agent … all of these things take time. You query a batch of agents, you wait on their replies. You/your agent sends your brilliant, I say, brilliant manuscript to a publisher and you wait on their replies. And that’s IF you can bypass the developmental hell known as the slushpile.

It’s hard to factor in luck or being in the right time at the right place (depending on how your quantum universe works), but I do believe in being prepared for when your opportunities do arise. In short, fifth time’s the charm.

4) Publishing a novel takes time. I won’t lie, Angry Robot has spoiled me on publishing. They’ve been a delight to work with. But here’s another bit of time consumption: they accepted my manuscript in August of 2009 for a book that will be released in March 2010 (U.K. release date). That is a breakneck pace. The contract stuff had been worked out by then (a couple months), but that gives us months to go through the editing process, work up a cover (and allow me to show you this cover again), get my input for marketing ideas, and slotting it in their release schedule. Only then does the novel see the market. And like I said, Angry Robot is moving very quickly. I could very easily be a 43 year old virgin writer.

I say all this to encourage my fellow aspiring scribes of all ages. Writing takes time. Publishing takes time. All you can do is keep writing. You’re never too old to write.

*I also have a so-called publisher/editor friend who shall remain nameless (Jason Sizemore says what?) who loves to remind me that I “ain’t no virgin.”

**THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID! Ok, I’m turning 40, but I’m afraid my sense of humor is perfectly 8 year old boy.

A new novella: Bleed With Me. Though I did sell a novella, Devil’s Marionette (Shroud Publishing)

Revise my second novel: nope.

I’d declare it a B- year, but a few things popped up that I hadn’t planned on:

Sold a novel.The Knights of Breton Court. Turns out, fifth novel’s the charm. That novel then became a trilogy: Book One – King Maker, Book Two – King’s Justice, and Book Three – King’s War.

Wrote a novel. Um, I had to write Book Two – King’s Justice.

Edited an anthology. There’s no such thing as good or bad timing when it comes to publishing. You pretty much just have to grab onto your opportunities when they came up. So the idea of doing an anthology related to Mo*Con took off and I put out the guidelines for Dark Faith. Here is the final line up.

Heck, those last three alone would have made this an A+ year.

So my goals for next year? I need to do any revisions required for King Maker and King’s Justice as well as write King’s War. Currently, I have eight stories out and about searching for homes. I’d like to write a half dozen more (Jason Sizemore and I have this challenge that we’re to keep at least dozen stories in circulation at all times). I have other novels I hope to write (one a collaboration, one an expansion on a short story). I’d still like to revise that screenplay. I have two novellas percolating in the back of my head). And I’d like to make a comic book pitch.

Lofty , yes, but not entirely unrealistic. It’s good to challenge yourself.*

*Though I’m trying to keep in mind the words of a dear friend: “Try not to mentally overbook yourself, okay? I understand better than you realize about the voices in your head that drive you to accomplish more and more and to prove that nothing interferes with your ability to do your thing. But you’re only human, despite rumors to the contrary.”

So much of our reality is determined by what we believe, and it can so easily become … undone.

Editors MAURICE BROADDUS and Jerry Gordon have created an anthology that explores the dark side of faith and what it may mean. These twenty-six stories and five poems (130k+ words of content) may make you cry, may make you laugh, and will certainly terrify you. You may never look at the light the same way again.

Cover art by Edith Walter

“The Story of Belief-Non” by Linda D. Addison (poem)“Ghosts of New York” by Jennifer Pelland“I Sing a New Psalm” by Brian Keene“He Who Would Not Bow” by Wrath James White“Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch’s Damnation” by Douglas F. Warrick“Go and Tell It on the Mountain” by Kyle S. Johnson“Different from Other Nights” by Eliyanna Kaiser“Lilith” by Rain Graves (poem)“The Last Words of Dutch Schultz Jesus Christ” by Nick Mamatas“To the Jerusalem Crater” by Lavie Tidhar“Chimeras & Grotesqueries” by Matt Cardin“You Dream” by Ekaterina Sedia“Mother Urban’s Booke of Dayes” by Jay Lake“The Mad Eyes of the Heron King” by Richard Dansky“Paint Box, Puzzle Box” by D.T. Friedman“A Loss For Words” by J. C. Hay“Scrawl” by Tom Piccirilli“C{her}ry Carvings” by Jennifer Baumgartner (poem)“Good Enough” by Kelli Dunlap“First Communion” by Geoffrey Girard“The God of Last Moments” by Alethea Kontis“Ring Road” by Mary Robinette Kowal“The Unremembered” by Chesya Burke“Desperata” by Lon Prater (poem)“The Choir” by Lucien Soulban“Days of Flaming Motorcycles” by Catherynne M. Valente“Miz Ruthie Pays Her Respects” by Lucy A. Snyder“Paranoia” by Kurt Dinan (poem)“Hush” by Kelly Barnhill“Sandboys” by Richard Wright“For My Next Trick I’ll Need a Volunteer” by Gary A. Braunbeck

AND THAT’S NOT ALL…

There’s an Apex Store exclusive offer: pre-order now and receive the limited edition promotional chapbook Dark Faith: Last Rites. Only 500 chapbooks will be produced!

“Taste of Memories” by Nate Southard“That Singing Sea” by Toiya Finley“The Taste of Our Indiscretions” by Robert Ford“Little Gods” by Sara Genge